“I f—— hate losing, so it’s hard to do that.” Ryan Preece’s passionate reaction to last weekend’s Watkins Glen race caught attention. At this time last year, the RFK Racing recruit was swimming in uncertainty while fresh out of Stewart-Haas Racing. In 2025, however, he remains just 34 points shy of clinching a NASCAR Cup Series playoff spot. And the primary obstacle in his path is none other than his own teammate, Chris Buescher.

Buescher’s performance at The Glen was jaw-dropping, as he gave a solid fight to defend his title. He picked up a chunk of stage points, scoring the second-most points in the race (44). With Ryan Preece gaining 33 points, the battle is going to be rigorous in the next races. Yet Preece is focusing on the practical side of things.

Ryan Preece values teamwork more in this tense situation

The 34-year-old racer has a good history on short tracks. Ryan Preece has won over 25 times in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. That penchant probably landed him the golden spot for Saturday’s Cook Out 400 race. Preece lapped the Virginia short track in 22.244 seconds, earning pole by 0.087s over Tyler Reddick. Given that Preece has not started from the pole since the 2022 Texas race, this might signal good times ahead. However, Chris Buescher is a solid competitor – he already owns a victory in Richmond, earned in 2023. He has also won at Daytona, another victory clinched that year.

Hence, the fight is bound to be intense between the RFK teammates. If there is no new winner in Richmond, it will all be decided between them in the wildcard race in Daytona. When asked about his competition with Buescher, Ryan Preece initially declared to the press: “Hell yeah, I’m gonna race the heck out of him.” But then he broke the tension: “I’m just messing with you.”

Ryan Preece continued by analyzing both racetracks. In 2024, we witnessed a chaotic spurt at Daytona and an emphasis on Goodyear’s tires in Richmond. Preece said, “It’s hard to say. I think we’re at two racetracks, superspeedway, especially Daytona, anything can happen, we saw that last year. At Richmond, you don’t know who is gonna show up with the right package today for this option tire…Tire wear. How’s that gonna be? How impactful can that play in this race?” 

Ultimately, Ryan Preece is focused on grabbing that elusive Cup Series victory and impressing veterans. “I think you’re gonna have to win to get in, to really lock yourself in. Unless you’re Tyler Reddick, Chris and I are both trying to figure out what’s the best strategy for us… Scott and Derek are working hard on that. I have really fast race cars that can go and execute great races.” With a pole in his hands, that does not seem too far off.

Chris Buescher is also focusing on the same. However, his duties were narrowed down a little bit this weekend.

Handing over the ride to someone else

Last weekend, Chris Buescher primed himself to defend the Watkins Glen title. He turned over extra practice time at the 8-turn, 2.45-mile road course by competing in a Truck for the first time. Buescher drove the No. 66 Ford for ThorSport Racing and finished in 22nd place. Accordingly, he was able to put up a solid fight against Shane van Gisbergen, although the latter ultimately prevailed. In Richmond, he will not have that extra privilege, as Luke Fenhaus will take over his Truck duties at ThorSport for the regular season finale of the Craftsman Truck Series.

The No. 66 truck’s primary driver so far this year, Luke Fenhaus, leads everybody with 10 starts behind the wheel. He is set to return for Friday’s 250-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond, Virginia oval. It will mark his first start since the race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in late July. Fenhaus’ top finish was a third-place spot at Michigan earlier this season, so all eyes are on the 21-year-old’s talents this weekend.

Meanwhile, Chris Buescher continues to focus on the playoffs. He said, “There’s a whole lot of racing that got us to this point and a whole lot of racing left in the year. It’s a big part of our year and obviously the game we’re playing, but it’s not something you’re living in that little tiny box. It’s the same focus every week, figuring out how we can set ourselves up to win a race and be fast.”

Clearly, the battle is on between the RFK Racing teammates. Let us wait and watch which one prevails over the other in Richmond.